Push the bottom line 2007

Austrian companies still respond too slowly to crisis situations: 60% (2004: 55%) of these crises go undetected for more than a year. Here companies respond only once the strategic crisis is reflected in their profits. Yet on the other hand, more and more companies are taking steps to improve performance when they are experiencing strategic problems. Thus the share of companies that don't take action until they have a liquidity crisis has declined by more than half since 2004 (currently at 5%), since fewer and fewer of them get caught in liquidity bottlenecks.

With early warning systems such as management information systems (MIS), monthly meetings or strategic plans, there is still a discrepancy between recognizing their importance and actually implementing them. In terms of the latter, Austria is at the European average.

What's more, there is a clear move away from traditional, purely cost-related restructuring actions toward growth-oriented activities. The increase in sales has matched the reduction in HR costs. Key success factors for such projects are management commitment, communicating goals and project progress as well as rapid implementation. In the short- to medium-term, Austrian companies continue to count on growth abroad, primarily in the Central and Eastern European countries.

For this study, 450 companies in diverse industries in Austria were surveyed and the results compared with similar studies of Austria and CEE in past years.